On Friday, February 17th, 2012, this is the HNC Birding Report: Snow Goose Redhead x Ring-necked Duck Hybrid Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser Hybrid King Eider Ring-necked Pheasant Ruffed Grouse Wild Turkey Red-throated Loon Common Loon Turkey Vulture Northern Harrier Thayer's Gull Iceland Gull Glaucous Gull Eastern Screech Owl Great Horned Owl Snowy Owl Short-eared Owl Long-eared Owl Northern Saw-whet Owl Northern Shrike American Pipit Chipping Sparrow Fox Sparrow White-crowned Sparrow Brown-headed Cowbird Purple Finch
It's been a quiet winter week here in the Hamilton Study Area with the highlight being hybrid ducks. For our hybrid enthusiasts, a Redhead x Ring-necked Duck was found at Bronte Harbour last weekend. This is probably a first for many who follow hybridization of waterfowl. The bird has been seen through the week hanging out with a few Redheads. A Common Goldeneye x Hooded Merganser hybrid was found on Wednesday at the Beach Canal. The hotspot of the week appears to be on the Hamilton mountain just south of Stoney Creek and Grimsby in the area known as Saltfleet. On 10th Road East, a traditional site for Short-eared Owl, this species was seen last weekend on the HNC field Trip between Ridge and Green Mountain Road at dusk. Northern Harriers seem to be wintering in force up here with a few being reported in this area. Eastern Screech Owls were heard at dusk on 8th Road east between Ridge and Green Mountain Road. Northern Shrike was seen on Mud Street between 3rd and 4th Road East (aka Tapleytown Road). On 1st Road West a group of forty-seven Wild Turkey were seen north of Green Mountain and a Ring-necked Pheasant was also seen in the same general area. An overwintering White-crowned Sparrow was seen on 10th Road east above Ridge Road. On the Hamilton Bay this week, a Snow Goose was seen at Pier 8 yesterday amongst a group of Canada Geese. The bird was not relocated today. A Red-throated Loon was seen flying over Canada Centre for Inland Waters earlier in the week. A Common Loon is still wintering off Bayfront Park. Today an adult Iceland and Glaucous Gull were seen off Princess Point. Later in the day, an adult Bald Eagle was key for stirring up the gulls off Princess Point and the bay. An immature male King Eider was seen in a raft of Scaup at LaSalle Marina on Tuesday. In the odds and sods this week, Ruffed Grouse are still been seen at dusk on Westover Road above 8th Concession West in Flamborough. Thayer's, Iceland and Glaucous Gull were seen last Monday on Mowhawk Lake in Brantford. A Turkey Vulture flew over Burloak Drive south of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Another was seen today, near Misener Road east of Brantford. A Northern Saw-whet Owl is still present on the west side of Bronte Creek Provincial Park. Long-eared Owls were seen in the dog park area of Bronte Creek as well. A Great Horned Owl is still being seen and heard at the Valley Inn with a nesting pair set up in the bridge over Plains Road. Up to three Snowy Owls were seen in the Bronte area, one south of the QEW on Burloak Drive (flying) and two Snowy Owls at Bronte Harbour, one on the docks and one flying in from the east. One was also seen on the pier on the weekend, likely one of the two former birds. A Northern Shrike was seen on Mainway west of Burloak Drive. An American Pipit was photographed at the Atlas Lines Building in Dundas on the Desjardins Canal. The Chipping Sparrow found a couple of weeks ago at the bottom of Valley Inn Road was reported in the last few days. A Fox Sparrow and Purple Finch were good finds on the Rail Trail/Bruce Trail east of the Bernie Arbour Stadium accessed from Wentworth Ave in Hamilton on Thursday. A large group of approximately Brown-headed Cowbirds were seen on Thursday. They were roosting in a tree and on hydro wires at the west end of Plains Rd were it turns into York Blvd. This week is the last push for winter birding so any sightings are greatly appreciated. Thanks and have a great week. Cheryl Edgecombe Hamilton Naturalists Club _______________________________________________ ONTBIRDS is presented by the Ontario Field Ornithologists - the provincial birding organization. Send bird reports to birdalert@ontbirds.ca For information about ONTBIRDS visit http://www.ofo.ca/
